1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stroller. More particularly, the invention relates to an exercise device for use with a baby stroller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Physical fitness has increasingly become an area of concern for parents with newborn babies. This is particularly true for women that traditionally have difficulty regaining their prepregnancy weight. However, many people do not have the time to exercise. As a result, walking a baby in a stroller has become a convenient way, particularly for new mothers, to stay fit and healthy, and to spend time with their child while doing so.
Joining a gym would on the surface seem the obvious choice for parents with toddlers. However, gyms are costly and few offer quality childcare. Besides for the high price of gym membership, parents generally experience tremendous guilt and separation anxiety when leaving their child in someone else's care. This situation is even further compounded for men and women juggling careers with the arduous duties of parenthood.
To that end, cross-country skiing machines that once exclusively adorned gyms can now be found in homes from coast to coast. Cross-country skiing machines have quickly become the home exercise device of choice for parents with children because they provide a user with a full aerobic workout. However, there is a distinct disadvantage to cross-country skiing devices in that they confine the user to one area, usually indoors. Moreover, parents are again left with the daunting task of watching their children while attempting to exercise.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,165, issued to Cohen et al., discloses an exercising device provided for use with a baby stroller of the type having a housing secured to the frame of a stroller, and an elongated arm pivotally attached at one end to the housing. The apparatus further includes a device for preventing pivotal movement of the arm relative to the housing until a torsional force greater than a predetermined level is applied to the other end of the arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,309, issued to Archey, discloses a similar jogging exercise stroller having a pair of arcuate handles pivotally connected on one end to an upper cross member of the stroller. A pair of shock absorbers extend between the arcuate handles and the lower cross member of the stroller.
Both Cohen and Archey recognize the need for a stroller capable of providing the user with an upper body workout. However, a user attempting to exercise with either Cohen's or Archey's device quickly learns that they are not practically designed. The back and forth motion of the arms interrupt the fluid forward movement of the stroller. The Cohen and Archey devices are not as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.